Jwala Gutta backs Bhupathi on AITA dispute, slams 'abrupt treatment'

India's badminton ace Jwala Gutta has lashed out at the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for replacing Mahesh Bhupathi as the non-playing captain of India's Davis Cup team and has deemed the 'abrupt' treatment as wrong. AITA announced its decision to replace Rohit Rajpal as the skipper of the team instead of Mahesh Bhupathi as the latter was not comfortable traveling to Pakistan. Mahesh Bhupathi had voiced concerns about the safety and security of the members of the Indian team that was earlier scheduled to play against Pakistan in Islamabad. However, after ITF's decision to shift the venue to a neutral location, AITA announced its move to replace Mahesh Bhupathi. 

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Jwala Gutta backs Mahesh Bhupathi  

The badminton ace, speaking to Republic TV,  has hit out at the associations for mistreating the players and said that she too did not receive much respect. Jwala Gutta said that the association was not bothered about the players and that the players must unite to protest against this. Backing Mahesh Bhupathi over the Davis Cup controversy, Jwala Gutta said that the association should have spoken to Mahesh Bhupathi regarding the visit to Pakistan and its security concerns instead of serving him an abrupt treatment. 

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Mahesh Bhupathi breaks his silence

India's tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi broke his silence on the Davis Cup controversy just days after he was replaced as the non-playing captain of the Indian team. Taking to Twitter, Mahesh Bhupathi revealed that he had received a call from AITA chairman Hiranmoy Chatterjee on Monday, informing him that Rohit Rajpal will be replacing him as the captain as he wasn't comfortable traveling to Pakistan. Mahesh Bhupathi further said that he not heard from the AITA ever since ITF decided to shift the venue of the India-Pakistan Davis Cup tie to a neutral venue. Mahesh Bhupathi also said that he still believed that he was the captain unless he heard so otherwise. 

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